Sabre Insurance Group PLC on Tuesday raised its dividend and proposed a new share buyback programme as it reported increased revenue and profit in 2024.
The Dorking, Surrey-based motor insurance underwriter said pretax profit more than doubled to £48.6 million in 2024 from £23.6 million.
Insurance revenue grew 32% to £248.1 million from £188.2 million, while the firm achieved its highest annual gross written premium of £236.4 million, up 5.0% from £225.1 million in 2023.
Shares in Sabre Insurance gained 5.3% to 130.60 pence in London on Tuesday afternoon.
Sabre declared a total dividend of 13.0 pence per share for 2024, an increase of 44% from 9.0p in 2023.
The company said it plans to launch a £5.0 million share buyback programme in 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
‘This is an effective use of excess capital and underlines the board’s confidence in the group’s balance sheet strength and its capital-light strategic plan,’ the company said.
The net insurance and investment result advanced 55% to £76.1 million from £49.0 million.
Sabre said it maintained ‘underwriting discipline’ in 2024, as it increased prices in line with its view of high single-digit claims inflation.
‘We are extremely pleased with our performance in 2024, demonstrating strong cycle management over the past twelve months. We grew strongly in the first half of the year when market conditions were attractive, and we maintained our strict underwriting discipline despite a steep decline in market prices during the second half,’ Chief Executive Officer Geoff Carter said.
‘This allowed Sabre to deliver a strong financial performance and robust capital position for the business... We continue to expect profit growth from Ambition 2030 to be weighted towards the second half of the six-year period as these initiatives gain further traction and momentum - complementing our core business.’
Looking ahead, the firm said there has been ‘good volume momentum’ later in the first quarter of 2025, but it is against a ‘very high growth’ comparative period in 2024.
Sabre said it anticipates ‘strong underwriting performance and profitability in 2025’. It expects its margin to be within the target 18% to 22% range in 2025.
The net insurance margin was 17.6% in 2024, up from 10.6% in 2023.
CEO Geoff Carter said: ‘While our plans to deliver sustainable growth will not be a ’straight-line’ evolution, the next few years will be exciting as we build on the strong 2024 result and deliver sustainable medium-term growth in GWP, profit and shareholder returns.’
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